Blevins swallows bag before his drug arrest
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Ronnie Blevins Sr., 59, was arrested by officers with the Warren County Sheriff?s Department for allegedly selling crack cocaine to an undercover informant. When officers arrived Wednesday afternoon to serve the warrant, Blevins was seen shoving a plastic bag in his mouth and swallowing it.
?We knew he kept his crack rock in a prescription pill bottle,? said Sheriff?s Capt. Tommy Myers. ?When we drove up, I saw him pull his pill bottle out of his pocket and I saw him shove a plastic bag in his mouth. It looked like a pretty big plastic bag he was swallowing. It?s a shame we were right there and saw him swallowing it and there was nothing we could do about it.?
Mark?s Market is located on the corner of Bybee Branch Road and Cascade Avenue. Blevins lives in a second-floor apartment above the market, which is owned by his son. According to officers, there have been numerous complaints of drug activity taking place at that location.
Because officers feared Blevins could be harmed by swallowing what could have been a large quantity of cocaine, he was taken to River Park Hospital but he refused treatment. Officers had hoped to pump his stomach but that can?t legally be ordered since Blevins was conscious and lucid.
Blevins is currently at Warren County Jail and Myers said officers are waiting to see ?if anything comes out.? He will face an additional charge of possession with intent to sell if drugs are found in his stool.
District Attorney Dale Potter says it?s a shame Blevins was out of prison in the first place since he was handed an 18-year sentence in September, 2003 for selling crack cocaine to a minor.
?We did our part but the parole board let him go,? said Potter. ?I?m not sure why the parole board let him out unless it was because of his age.?
In addition to parole violation charges, which could land him in prison for the remainder of his sentence, Blevins faces 12 to 30 years for sale of cocaine. Potter says other charges will most likely be presented to the grand jury.